


stand by you

by perksofbeingabooknerd



Category: Lovely Little Losers, Nothing Much to Do
Genre: Breakup, Friendship, Gen, and oatmeal cookies, platonic love!, prompt, sad john!, supportive hero!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-30
Updated: 2016-05-30
Packaged: 2018-07-11 03:12:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 814
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7025179
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/perksofbeingabooknerd/pseuds/perksofbeingabooknerd
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“Have I entered an alternate universe or did you really just crack a smile for me?”</p>
            </blockquote>





	stand by you

**Author's Note:**

> set in the future, with hero and john as roommates. they are friends and very much platonic
> 
> posted on my tumblr @theperksofbeingabooknerd
> 
> i take prompts!
> 
> title is a lyric from "stand by you" by rachel platten

It’d been one week, three days, and four hours since Tammi broke up with John. One week, three days, and two hours since he shut himself up in his room. He still hadn’t come out.

Hero knew because she was looking at the clock when John got home. It was Saturday, 8:03pm when he entered the flat quietly and walked into the kitchen, his face blank.

She knew right away something was wrong. “John?”

He didn’t say a word. Just filled up a glass of water, turned, and headed straight into his room. The door shut, and Hero flinched, even though it wasn’t loud.

It wasn’t until she logged onto Facebook that Hero found out.

_John Donaldson is now single._

“Oh no,” she whispered, her heart sinking. John really liked Tammi. She couldn’t even imagine what he was feeling right now.

Hero found herself outside his door a few minutes later. She hesitated, then knocked. “John? Are you okay?”

No answer. She turned the knob.

“I’m fine!” came John’s voice. It sounded muffled. 

“Are you-?”

“I’m fine.”

Hero rested her forehead on the door. She wished she could comfort him; she knew better than anyone how painful breakups were. He would talk to her when he was ready, she reminded herself.

“Okay,” Hero said to herself. She would give him his space. He knew she was there for him. 

Before leaving for work the next day, Hero made sure to leave a glass of water and a sandwich outside John’s door. When she returned, the glass was empty and the sandwich. Hero smiled before bending to take the glass and plate.

“John, I’m home,” she called through his door. He didn’t answer. Hero figured he must be asleep.

But when she walked down the hallway to change out of her work clothes, Hero heard a sound from John’s room. He was awake. 

She tied her long hair up into a bun and entered the kitchen to turn the kettle on. Minutes later, Hero shuffled to John’s room with two mugs brimming with hot tea. 

“I made tea,” she announced. She heard him moving around inside. A long moment passed. Hero started to wonder if she should just leave it on the floor, but then-

“Come in.”

“My hands are f-”

Hero heard his footsteps cross slowly to the door, and then it opened and there was John. She searched his face, but he turned too quickly for her to discern anything.

“Thanks.” Hero crossed the room and set a mug on his dresser. “It’s still hot, so wait a-”

Hero turned around mid-sentence and was surprised to find tears running down John’s face. She wrapped her arms around his waist in a tight hug.

“Oh, John. I’m so sorry.” Hero could feel his shoulders shaking with every sob. Her heart went out to him. He didn’t deserve this.

They stood like that for a while, Hero rubbing circles on his back and his hands on her waist. 

“I’m-I’m sorry,” John choked out among sobs. 

“It’s okay,” Hero reassured him.

He cried for a few more minutes until the tears gave way to shuddering gasps. John pulled back and pressed his hands to his eyes, as if to stop any more tears from leaking. 

“Oh god,” he sniffled and let out an embarrassed laugh. “Your shirt.”

Hero glanced down to see her shirt soaked through with tears. She met John’s gaze and waved a hand. “No big deal.”

John heaved out a sigh and grabbed the mug of tea from the dresser. Hero watched him sink onto his bed. He looked so sad. Hero hoped Tammi knew how much she was missing out on.

He sipped the tea. If it was cold, he didn’t let on, instead raising the mug as a thanks. Hero nodded at him.

“You wanna talk?”

“Maybe tomorrow.”

“Okay.”

It was one week, four days, and ten hours later, and John was leaning over the kitchen sink, scrubbing a plate. He’d told her what happened the day after she brought him tea. Tammi had cheated on him, then dumped him before John could decide what to do or how to feel. He’d cried again a little, but Hero was there with oatmeal raisin cookies (his favorite) and the whole of Blackadder on DVD.

Hero sat over a bowl of grapes at the kitchen table, staring out the window. After a moment, she turned to face John.

“Hey, wanna hear a joke?”

John glanced back at her. “Uh, sure.”

“Why did Adele cross the road?”

“I dunno, why?”

“To say hello from the other side.” Hero grinned at him, waiting for his reaction.

John blinked, then laughed. “That’s so bad.”

“Hey, have I entered an alternate universe or did you really just crack a smile for me?” Hero had missed his laugh.

He shook his head, still smiling. “Oh, shut up.”

**Author's Note:**

> first time writing them platonically! i think i did pretty good. if you want me to write anything specific, let me know and i'll do my best.


End file.
